Sunday, May 30, 2010

our good friends celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary in savannah this weekend. we had a wonderful time celebrating with them & their friends & family. the theme was XV, the roman numeral for fifteen (and their last name also happens to start with "x"). I made some desserts for the party on friday- vanilla cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting & "anniversary" sugar cookies (that I didn't have enough time to decorate how I had planned). cupcake flag template from martha found here, & then I just customized them in photoshop.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

I guess I'm at "that age" where all of my friends are starting to have babies! I have been to four baby showers just in the last few weeks (two in one day!). and while I always like to give people some things off their registry, I also like to add my own personal touch. below are a few gifts I put together for friends and their little ones. I secretly wanted to keep them for myself.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

robert used the rosemary in his anniversary flower arrangement to make these amazing rosemary potatoes for dinner, served with grilled steak, corn on the cob & arnold palmers. a perfect summer meal on the deck.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

every year on may 20th I give robert the traditional anniversary gift for our year (1=paper, 2=cotton, 3=leather, etc). well year 4 is flowers, so I decided to give my best shot at making a manly bouquet (if that's even possible?). it turned out nice; robert said this was the first time he'd ever been given flowers.

in return, he sent me the most beautiful, fragrant flowers I have ever seen. pinkish-white peonies... our wedding flower (big props to a husband who can remember what flowers his bride was carrying on the wedding day!). and then mister smarty-pants also gave me flowered linen placemats (linen is the "modern" gift for year four) from this very cool artist. yea. he's good.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

I can think of a heck of a lot of happy days in my 28 years... but none quite compare to this one. happy four year anniversary to the most loving, honest, funny, caring, handsome, talented, thoughtful husband. I am so blessed.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

have you tried mrs. meyer's basil-scented natural cleaning products? they smell really good (although nothing like basil, actually) & are safe for the environment. give the scent a try... I think you'll like.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

I had a fabulous afternoon/evening with my family on friday. we laid by the river & fished, chatted, played 20 questions, grilled dinner (fish, which was purchased from the market due to my lack fishing skills) & just enjoyed each other's company. life is grand.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

my sister turned 25 years old a few weeks ago, which is reason enough for a special celebration. her favorite movie of all time just happens to be mrs. doubtfire, so I figured that would be the perfect theme for our dinner party. but be forewarned: my family & I are huge dorks (if you haven't noticed already). we dressed the part, ate the part, talked the part & of course sang along to the movie soundtrack that robert made. euphegenia doubtfire would have been awfully proud, dear.

{the invitation}

designed to look like the movie poster.

{the guests}

dad dressed as mr. lundy, complete with a glass of scotch & a fake beard. kara went as euphegenia doubtfire. and mom as miranda, with her design portfolio in hand.

I had movie props hidden all over the house. whoever could spot the prop & quote the corresponding movie line won a prize. humor me- do you know any of these movie lines?

{the food}

robert & I made the exact same meal from the movie that mrs. doubtifre serves her first night on the job: raspberry salad, shrimp on colored linguine with orange sauce & baby carrots (I have no idea HOW this goes together, but it does in the movie, so that's how we did it) . I also made the soccer cake from the movie, in a pink box, of course.

{the gifts}

mom gave kara 25 gifts for 25 years. she had been collecting all kinds of little vintage things for kara: pins, gloves, rings, pocketbooks, a hand mirror. you name it, she now has it in her collection.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Monday, May 10, 2010

happy mother's day! I am so very blessed to have an amazing mother & grandmother. to celebrate, we went down to the family lakehouse for the weekend. on sunday I made everyone breakfast: a ham, spinach & swiss quiche, home-fried potatoes, fruit salad & a sparkling white sangria, which was delicious. it's a perfect summer drink & would be great for entertaining. cheers to mom!

preparation:cut orange & lime in half. pill large pitcher with ice and combine the wine, brandy, liqueur, lemon-lime soda, the juice from half the orange & half the lime. stir. add simple syrup to obtain desired sweetness. slice remaining orange & lime into thin slices & add to pitcher.
*to make simple syrup, combine one part water to one part sugar in small saucepan. bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. chill before use.

Friday, May 7, 2010

I love ashleyg; we have a couple of her prints hanging in our home. when I saw her most recent "I'd rather be thrifting" print, I knew it would be the perfect gift for my vintage-loving sister, who is the queen of thrift stores & estate sales. I bought a frame & then had a matte cut to fit. turned out pretty darn cute!